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First Lady Of Kentucky Makes Pitch For Faith-Based Foster Care

Liam Niemeyer
/
WKMS News

  Dozens of prospective foster parents gathered at Heartland Church in Paducah to hear the First Lady of Kentucky Glenna Bevin pitch “Uniting Kentucky,” an initiative she helped start two months ago that seeks to find more parents for foster kids through church membership.

 

Church member Jason Farley said he and his wife came to hear more about the program. They adopted their daughter more than two years ago because they wanted to do more in their faith.

 

“That is our calling. That is our calling here, so that’s what fortunately we felt in our heart,” Farley said.

 

The Office of the First Lady says more than 9,700 children in Kentucky are in out-of-home care. Bevin said in many cases that care is providing temporary housing for children until the original biological parents can get back on their feet.

 

“As many of these kids that we can reunite in a safe manner, then that’s what we should be doing. And for the ones that we can’t, we need to find them a ‘forever home’ as quickly as possible,” Bevin said.

 

Bevin and her husband, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, are both Christians themselves and have adopted several children. She said recruiting through churches makes sense because faith calls for people to help those in need, but one doesn’t need to be religious to consider adoption.

 

“Honestly, all you have to do is have a heart and a willingness to love these children. That’s all you need,” she said.

 

The stop in Paducah is a part of a statewide tour to advertise the program. More information on the program can be found here.

 

"Liam Niemeyer is a reporter for the Ohio Valley Resource covering agriculture and infrastructure in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia and also serves Assistant News Director at WKMS. He has reported for public radio stations across the country from Appalachia to Alaska, most recently as a reporter for WOUB Public Media in Athens, Ohio. He is a recent alumnus of Ohio University and enjoys playing tenor saxophone in various jazz groups."
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